


Coming Out Sideways

by RosiePaw



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 15:12:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosiePaw/pseuds/RosiePaw





	Coming Out Sideways

The latest databurst from Earth had flooded Rodney’s e-mail inbox with the usual assortment of trash (95%), items of moderate interest (4%) and really good stuff (1%).  He’d already discarded Category 1 and was sorting through Category 2 when one particular message caught his eye.  After a quick skim, he upgraded it to Category 3 and radio’ed Sheppard.

“Sheppard here.”

“Checked your e-mail yet?”

“’Changes to 10 U.S.C. Section 264’?  Woolsey already told me.”

“Let me guess, he wants you to make a city-wide announcement.”

“Yeah.  Help me write it?”

“Hmmm, what’s in it for me?”

“Really hot sex?”

“Let me clarify.  What’s in it for me that I’m not already getting?”

“Let _me_ clarify, McKay.  What are you not getting if I’m busy writing it by myself?”

“Good point.  Uh, John?  Is there... anything else we should do about this?”

Silence.

“John?  We don’t have to talk right now.  Maybe later?  Usual time and place?”

“Yeah.  Hey, did _both_ my toothbrushes end up in your quarters again?”

“Yes – for the third time in two months.”

“Think they’re trying to tell us something?”

“Forget it.  I’ll help write your announcement, but I’m not helping you interpret your toothbrushes.  Ask the linguists.  McKay out.”

***

“Is that my shirt?”

“It was in _my_ laundry.”

“Which doesn’t negate the fact that from the way it fits you, either you’ve lost a lot of weight recently – which I know from close personal experience is _not_ the case – or it’s my shirt.”

“Fine, here.”

“Right, stripping off pieces of clothing, that’s a mature way to win an argument.”

“What argument?  You said it was your shirt, I’m handing it over.  I’m literally giving you the shirt off my back.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute when you’re dorky.  Okay, to resume our earlier non-discussion...  Stop pouting!  Look, I’m not asking you what you _feel_, I’m just asking you if you think there’s anything we should _do_.”

“Are you going to get pissy if I say no?”

“No, I’m going to be relieved.  Are you saying no?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you’re saying no, or yes, you’re saying...  You know what?  Never mind.  If this is what I get for trying to be a good boyfriend and get your input so we can make a decision _together_, then never mind.  _I_ don’t think there’s anything we should do about it, so we’re going to do nothing.  I’m sure it will be convenient for our friends to stop pretending they don’t know anything, and it will _definitely_ be convenient for us not to have to remember to be so goddamn careful all the time, not that wearing each others’ clothes is what any sane person would consider careful...”

“It was in my laundry!”

“...But aside from that, we don’t need speeches, we don’t need a party and we don’t need to make out on a table in the mess hall.”

“So we’re cool?”

“_You’re_ cool because you’re half naked.  I’m, uh, feeling a little warm?”

“C’mere...  Mmmm, yeah.  More than a little.”

***

There was, of course, a party anyway, because the Pegasus galaxy had taught them all not to waste opportunities to celebrate.  But it was at least a general purpose party, without any explicit intention of focusing on the military commander and the chief science officer.  Rodney staked out a position on the sidelines conveniently near the buffet table.  John kept him company, nursing a beer and watching couples dance.

“Lorne and Parrish?”

“Oh, come on, you didn’t see that coming?  _Everyone_ saw that coming.”

“Well, no one told me.”

“You didn’t ask.  Uh-oh, _that’s_ going to end in tragedy.”

John followed the direction of Rodney’s stare to where Miko was dancing with a Marine lieutenant half a head taller than her.

“Objections, Rodney?”

“She’s holding Miko as if she thinks Miko’s fragile.”

“Rodney, Miko _looks_ fragile.”

“That’s my point!  Anyone with any intelligence would realize that Miko couldn’t possibly be as fragile as she looks and have survived this long in Atlantis.  Therefore, the lieutenant is an idiot, which means that Miko’s too smart for her.”

John took another look across the dance floor.  The lieutenant was bending her head down to murmur something into Miko’s ear.  John didn’t think he’d ever seen Miko smile quite that way before.  “Rodney, do you admit that _Miko_ is intelligent?”

“Reasonably.  Not as intelligent as...”

“Then how about you let Miko handle her own dating issues?”

“Oh.  Okay, but if I find Miko crying...”

“Then it’s probably because you yelled at her.  You’re the only one who has that effect on her, you know.  Good evening, Major Teldy.”

“Good evening, sir, Dr. McKay.  Permission to speak freely, sir?”

John raised an eyebrow, which Teldy seemed to take as an okay.

“You two should be out on the dance floor.  You look like chaperones at a high school prom, standing over here.”

“Your concerns have been noted, Major.  Three words: two left feet.”

“Understood, sir.”  Teldy gave Rodney a shrug and a grin as she left, as if to say, hey, she’d tried.

“You know, Sheppard, quite aside from the fact that if you really _were_ that clumsy then Teyla would kick your ass even more often than she already does, the two-left-feet excuse could only work on someone who doesn’t know anything about your family.  You _had_ to have learned to dance at least well enough to be socially acceptable.”

“Rodney, my family doesn’t consider _me_ socially acceptable.”

“Well, uh, right.  I’m sorry?  That’s _their_ loss, of course.”

Rodney’s chin rose on the last sentence, defiant of anyone who ever _had_ or might yet _try_ to hurt John.  John grinned and gave Rodney a companionable shoulder bump.  They continued to watch the dancers.

***

Once the initial celebration was over, the replacement of DADT by a policy of non-discrimination with respect to sexual orientation made little change in day-to-day life in Atlantis.  Not surprisingly, there were some surprises with regard both to who didn’t come out and who _did_.  Chuck’s betting pools did a brisk business.

And not all the surprises were pleasant ones.  Long-cherished dreams as to what the objects of certain people’s affections and/or fantasies might do if conditions changed did not always survive contact with reality, not when the dreamed-about failed to reciprocate the interest of the dreamers.  The third time Rodney discovered Radek letting a disappointed Marine down gently, he began to wonder if he should be insulted that he himself wasn’t receiving any similar offers.  Not that he would have _accepted_ any, but...

“Rodney, calm down, it is not that no one except the Colonel finds you attractive.”

“Well, of course not!”

“It is only that any member of the military who might have such an interest was already aware of the, ah, understanding between the Colonel and yourself.  It is, what do you call it, gaydar.”

“It’s Sheppard’s hair, you mean.”  Radek shrugged and went back to his calculations.

Rodney wondered, briefly and uncomfortably, if _John_ was getting any offers.  But no, all of the military residents of Atlantis were in John’s chain-of-command, so they were out.  And as for the scientists, well, _they_ reported to Rodney, and even the dimmest of them was not quite _that_ stupid.

***

“McKay here.”

“Rodney, it is Radek.  Major Lorne and Dr. Parrish are with me.  We have found something in the west tower which we think will interest you.”

“By ‘interest’ do you mean it’s-going-to-explode-any-second interest, almost-as-good-as-a-ZPM interest or goes-on-the-rainy-day-list-with-the-rest-of-the-interesting-items interest?”

“Rodney, if you are still working on the same set of simulations as you were when I left the lab an hour ago, we both know they are non-critical.  As your friend and your colleague, I suggest that it will do Atlantis no harm and will perhaps do you some good if you were to come meet us here.”

***

“Here” turned out to be a spacious apartment.  Both the living room and the bedroom had balconies and panoramic windows that would provide glorious views of the setting sun (while allowing the residents to sleep late in the mornings).  There was also a smaller room that had promise as an office, a functional kitchen, a bathroom with a decadently huge tub and lots of closet space.

Why Radek, Lorne and Parrish had thought it important enough for Rodney to drop what he was doing and come see the place remained a mystery.  Rodney eyed them suspiciously, Lorne and Parrish with their heads together, looking out the window, Radek standing nearby...

“Ohmigod!”

“Rodney?”

“No, Radek, it’s fine, it’s just, I hadn’t thought, okay.  I’m very happy for all three of you.  Do you want me to talk to Woolsey?  I mean, just because current laws and policies stupidly refuse to take account of the fact that adult relationships sometimes involve more than two people...”

“Rodney...”

“There’s no reason that polyamorous relationships shouldn’t be recognized...”

“Rodney!  We are not a threesome.”  Radek was emphatic but matter-of-fact.  Lorne was red-faced.  Parrish appeared to be having trouble stifling a fit of the giggles.

“Oh.  Sorry.  Then why...”

“Major Lorne and Dr. Parrish have been scouting through the tower for their own reasons.  This apartment does not suit them, as they have plans for, ah, future expansion.”

“Expansion of what?  Oh!  Uh, _how_?  No, never mind, you called me here for this because?”

“They called _me_ here because they wanted my opinion as to how you would react if they called you.”

“In other words, because they were scared to call me themselves.”

“Exactly.  Now you are here, so we will leave.  Evan, David?  You were telling me of another place you have seen for your own use...”

Left alone, Rodney considered the view a while longer.  Then he tapped his radio.  “Sheppard?”

***

Moving day had to be timed to coincide with the arrival of the _Daedalus_, which was bringing (among other critical supplies) a bed large enough for two grown men _and_ a prescription mattress to fit.

John, not surprisingly, had packed in less than an hour.  He had a duffle, a crate, his surfboard, his skateboard and his guitar.

Rodney’s quarters, on the other hand, were still a sea of journals, laptops, computer parts, tools, bits of Ancient tech, DVDs, clothes, MREs, power bars, MRE and power bar wrappers and other items less identifiable (and probably better off unidentified).  In the midst of the chaos sat a sealed box marked with biohazard stickers.  Rodney figured the stickers would keep intruders away from the supplies of chocolate and coffee the box contained.

John considered the mess, took in Rodney’s beleaguered expression – and rapidly fraying temper – and radio’ed for a squad of Marines.

“Sir!”

“Corporal, please have one of your men draw a sketch of where each item in Dr. McKay’s quarters is currently located relative to the other items.”

“Sir!  Yes, sir!”

“Then pack everything up, take it all out to Dr. McKay’s new quarters in the west tower and unpack it, recreating the current arrangement in the office there.”

“Wait a moment, Sheppard, I’m not trusting your grunts with –“

“Sir!  Yes, sir!”

“And don’t break anything.”

“Sir!  No, sir!  Uh, sir?”

“Corporal.”

“Is Dr. McKay going to remain in his quarters while we’re packing, sir?”

“You seem to be forgetting that they’re still _my_ –“

“No, Corporal, I’ll take care of that.”

“Sir!  Thank you, sir!”

“Rodney, come on.”

“What makes you think I’m going to accept your high-handed attempts –“

“Rodney, let’s go supervise the delivery and installation of the bed.”

“Oh.  All right.”

***

Their new quarters contained an amazing number of people.  Marines were carrying in crates.  More Marines – apparently led by the lieutenant Rodney had noticed at the dance – were arranging furniture under Miko’s watchful and surprisingly exacting eye.

It may also have been Miko who’d drafted the pair of engineers putting the bed frame together.  They’d just finished when the prescription mattress arrived, hauled in by yet _more_ Marines.  One of the engineers gave the mattress a thump.

“Yow!  That thing’s as hard as a rock!  You really sleep on this, Colonel?”

“No, I don’t,” drawled John, “_Dr. McKay_ sleeps on top of the mattress.”

The engineer looked puzzled.  “Then where do you...  Oh.”  He got very busy rechecking bolts he’d already tightened, the Marines got very busy doing whatever they’d already been doing, and Rodney swatted John upside the head.

***

Later that night, the two of them lay curled together in the new and newly christened bed in their new quarters.

Rodney snuffled happily into John’s hair and murmured, “Apartment-warming party?”

“You think?”

“Not enough room for dancing, so no one will ask you to.  And we never officially... you know, told anyone.”

A few moments of silence, then: “Yeah.  Okay.”

“Don’t want to spook you.”

John kissed Rodney’s sweaty neck.  “Rodney, don’t worry about it.  We’re cool.”


End file.
